Parents' Guide to

The Invasion

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Smart thriller devolves into standard action fare.

Movie PG-13 2007 93 minutes
The Invasion Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 15+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Rarityfan2019
Rarityfan2019 Adult
April 3, 2020
age 15+

I´m me!

Lots of consumerism like soft drinks, old PSP and old 2000s cellphones. Tons of crashes and shooting, people becoming Changelings, pills and a fine party with al cohol.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Keegs M.
Keegs M. Parent of 6 and 10-year-old
May 2, 2016
age 14+

Amazing "Outbreak" Film Has You On Edge!

This Film Is Begins With A Space Shuttle Disaster, That Crash Lands Back On Earth. Scientists Then Begin To Realize That The Rubble Was Contaminated With A Contagious Virus. The Virus Activates While You Sleep, Turning You Into Emotionless Beings That Wants To Infect Everyone Else, When You Wake Up. The Film Is Very Suspenseful And Will Have Families On Edge Throughout The Film. There Is A Lot Of Violence Though (Gunshot Wounds, Suicide, Car Accidents, Vomit). There Is Nothing Inappropriately Sexual, Except Passionate Kissing That Quickly Stops. The Story Is Bitter Sweet, With A Great, But Predictable Ending. Great "Don't Go To Sleep" Vibe Adds To The Tension. Totally Recommend To Fans And Families That Love Suspense!

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

THE INVASION is the fourth film version of Jack Finney's 1955 novel (previous adaptations include the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Philip Kaufman's 1978 remake). But the alien-engineered change that threatens humans in this version is no longer a matter of pods that enclose victims while they sleep, but a virus-like "highly resilient organism" transmitted through body fluids. It is up to Dr. Stephen Galeano (Jeffrey Wright), Washington, D.C. psychiatrist Carol Bennell (Nicole Kidman) and her colleague, Ben (Daniel Craig), to discover the antidote.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (3):

The film indicates Carol's personal chaos with its fragmented, sometimes hard-to-follow storyline, which cuts back and forth in time. Bent over his microscope, Dr. Galeano isn't a likely action movie hero, and neither are his cohorts; the change in this old story's plot suits our current times. And Carol's perspective also limits potential philosophical questions. When her ex, Tucker (Jeremy Northam), tries to infect their young son, Oliver (Jackson Bond), with the organism, he insists that it's for the boy's good, to be part of "our world," where everyone feels peaceful and "the same" (news reports reveal that the rest of the world is changing: Darfur declares a ceasefire, the Iraqi president calls off suicide bombings, and Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush appear together, all smiles and agreements). As Tucker puts it, this conformity by force isn't so different from the pills Carol prescribes for her unhappy patients: Everyone just wants to "feel better."

The hitch is that the new world cannot brook difference, so anyone who's immune to the transition or otherwise resists it is eliminated -- brutally. And so the film undergoes its own change, from sharp paranoid thriller to noisy action flick, with lots of shooting and cars crashing, a chase in D.C.'s metro system, and a by-the-numbers helicopter rescue. Sadly, all this physical commotion eventually prevails over the film's more complicated questions about fear, independence, and social order.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the impact of implied violence in scary movies. Are movies scarier when they show violent acts taking place on screen or when those acts are left to your imagination? Why? Families can also discuss what message the movie is trying to send, if any. Do you think the aliens' proposed choice -- sameness without fighting, or individualism and selfishness accompanied by war and conflict -- is meant to reflect any specific issues in today's society?

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